Chapter 31
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
It had been two weeks since Vince had been shot while infiltrating the black-market ship, but after the initial night when he’d had emergency surgery—the bolt removed, the damage to his shoulder repaired, and after that, hours spent in the recovery room—Lace had finally been able to take a deep breath.
She shouldn’t have let her guard down.
She knew better now.
Vince was proving to be a terrible patient.
He was in a sling that he was supposed to wear during all his waking hours, and he’d been ordered not to do any physical activity.
Right.
Apparently, the surgeon and attending doctor hadn’t known they were dealing with a stubborn Sothard.
Within hours of his release from the hospital on day two, Vince had already been flirting with removing the supporting harness, and insisting he was well enough to help Statler complete the bathroom.
Statler, luckily, was on his game, and refused to let Vince get anywhere near the project, but that didn’t mean Lace wasn’t subject to having her ear bent about it.
She’d also had to watch him like a hawk after Stat and the crew left each day.
More than once, she’d found him caulking baseboard or priming trim, unauthorized.
Luckily, in the two weeks alotted, the bathroom was complete without his interference. Mostly.
Now, she and Vince they were both wildly ecstatic over where today was headed.
Today was the day they picked up Inez.
And she didn’t know about it yet.
They, as well as the social worker who’d come to inspect them, and the one who normally transported Inez to and from the hospital, had agreed to keep it a secret.
The gossipy transport lady was even being helpful for once, promising to head back to Inez’s soon-to-be ex-foster home to pack up her things while treatments were underway.
Vince and Lace alone would be springing the news on the girl, hoping for a positive reaction similar to theirs when they’d been given the go-ahead by the agency.
Time would tell.
In celebration, this morning, Lace, along with Vince’s entire family; parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters-in-law, as well as baby nieces and nephews, were having breakfast at the Sothard compound. The food, of course, was compliments of Ellen Sothard.
The family hadn’t wanted to overwhelm Inez with their entire, enormous group right away, so they had a welcome home party scheduled for her in two weeks, after she’d been introduced to the fam, one by one.
“I’m not sure I’ll be able to eat,” Lace said, twisting her hands nervously in her lap as they drove to the Sothard compound.
This was her infusion day, but Vince had to know her roiling tummy had nothing to do with that. She was edgy with anticipation for when and how they’d break the news to Inez.
Vince couldn’t reach over and touch her for reassurance, because he was driving one-handed. And yes, he’d insisted on being the chauffer.
Instead, he sent her a warm, commiserating look.
“I know how you feel. This is like Christmas and birthdays all rolled into one. I just want to get to the hospital and get it over with.” He turned a suddenly concerned face to hers. “What if Inez doesn’t want to come live with us?”
Lace snorted. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about.
She already adores you.” Lace shed more light on her personal agitation.
“It’s me Inez might see as someone who’s superfluous.
” She chewed on her lip. “I’m hoping, though, that once she mulls things over, she’s going to realize that being with us is a hell of a lot better than where she’s been staying. ”
“That’s a no-brainer,” Vince concurred. “And of course she already loves you, too. My concern is that the change will send her into some kind of an anxiety-ridden spiral, fomented by what she’s experienced in the past.”
In that regard, they’d already procured two counselors; one for Inez, and one they’d see together as a family.
Lace and Vince had previously met with the second therapist to prepare themselves for what they might encounter in terms of adaptations for all of them.
That woman had been upbeat about her expectations.
“Remember, the therapist assured us that most kids are resilient,” Lace reminded him, paraphrasing the phycologist. “And you and I have both witnessed Inez being tough about, well, almost everything. Which is amazing for someone who’s faced so much adversity at such a young age.”
“She’s a survivor, alright,” Vince agreed, turning into his parents’ driveway with a wince at the abrupt movement. Because, yes, he was still in pain, he just refused to admit it.
But he was a big boy, and Lace had decided not to harp on it any longer.
“Looks like the gang’s all here,” he said with a grin, recovering quickly to pull in behind a fleet of trucks. And one van.
Lace was no longer shy about being around this large group. She’d interacted with them all, one-on-one, and had sat with the entire bunch at the hospital during Vince’s surgery. They were just plain nice.
Of course, she’d expected nothing less, having already known Ellen. And Lace’s friend Bobbie would never have settled for a man who would bring her into a contentious situation after the miserable childhood she’d suffered.
Lace and Vince walked in to see balloons, and a banner that read: “Congratulations, it’s a girl”, after which there were back-slaps and teasing aplenty going around.
The food, of course, was amazing, and Lace didn’t think she’d ever seen a buffet that size outside of a restaurant in her entire life.
Of course, there were eighteen adults present and six children—the oldest of those being three—so the large spread was actually a necessity if no one was to leave hungry.
This gathering had been scheduled for an early hour, before everyone had to be off to work and Lace had to go for her infusion. But with how lively everyone was—even without mimosas—one would have thought it was a mid-day barbeque.
When the clock finally ticked close to wrapping-up time, Lace noted that Vince had a particularly smug look on his face as he approached.
“We need to go,” he said.
Lace tilted her head. “Can’t we just walk out when everyone else leaves?” she asked.
“No. We need to leave, first,” he reiterated with a smirk.
“What have you done?” Lace regarded him with narrowing eyes.
“I’ll tell you when we get out of here,” he whispered in her ear.
“Fine. But if you piss off these people…”
“Nothing like that,” he snickered. “Just a little joke.”
He raised his voice as he dragged Lace toward his parents. “Ma,” he invoked jovially. “This was awesome, but we’re going to hit the road. Infusions wait for no woman,” he quipped.
“Oh, kids.” Ellen Sothard took Vince’s face between her hands, kissed him, then did the same to Lace. “Good luck today. Let us know if you need anything. And don’t forget. We’re coming to your place for dinner on Saturday to spend time with Inez, ready or not.”
“We know,” Vince agreed. “And Inez will love every minute of her new Oompa and Loompa.”
Ellen slapped his chest lightly but with intent.
“I will not have our new grandchild calling us that,” she ordered. “I’m not sure what we’ll come up with, but it will not be that.”
Lace wanted to giggle.
At least now it wouldn’t.
Ellen didn’t put her foot down very often, but when she did, all her boys listened.
“Just call us later and let us know how it’s going,” Guy Sothard put in more diplomatically. He gave Vince a man-hug on his non-boo-boo side, then pulled Lace in for a father-like squeeze.
“Will do, Pops,” Vince agreed, then took Lace’s arm. “Let’s go.”
Lace felt as if she were getting perp-walked out of the gathering. All she had time for was a quick wave on her way out, to the rest of those gathered.
Bobbie gave her a completely puzzled look, but there was nothing Lace could do except shrug. She had no idea what Vince was up to.
She was, however, going to find out.
“Okay, Spill,” she demanded, as soon as they were out the door and descending the porch steps.
He snorted. “Spence, Buck, Trask, and Julian are in for a little surprise when they get into their vehicles.”
“What did you do?” Lace questioned suspiciously. She’d seen some of the things these guys pulled on each other, and they ran the gamut from harmless, to close-to-the-edge-of-reckless.
Vince looked damned proud of himself as he let her into his truck, before going around to start the vehicle to get them moving.
“I actually employed the help of Stat and his crew,” he began. “I knew they had the skills to break into my brothers’ vehicles if they were locked.”
“And?” Lace continued to probe.
“A couple of them were.” He shrugged.
“Get to the point,” she ordered.
“Okay,” he responded, snickering. “I gave Stat and his guys four really big buckets of golf balls. Using some rope and pullies, they set one up in each of their front seats. When the driver side door is opened, kablooey. Balls will come spilling out all over.”
Lace rolled her eyes and snorted. Such children. “I suppose you’re proud of yourself for thinking of that one.”
Not that Lace disagreed with pulling the prank. His brothers had stuck Vince with that nasty ball retrieval without warning.
Vince laughed. “I am. And you know it serves them right.”
Lace refused to confirm that one way or the other, at least out loud.
The drive to the hospital took fifteen minutes, and sure enough, just as they were pulling into the parking lot, Vince’s phone began to light up.
He chortled, and pocketed his device without answering. “Too bad. So sad. Let them fester in it for a while.”
Getting out of the truck, Lace realized that because of the distraction of the ball-caper, she hadn’t worried during the entire trip about talking to Inez.
Clearly, there was something to be said for sophomoric humor.
But now, it was “go” time.